A farmer has refused to leave his £1.1million bungalow despite councils planning to blanket the green belt where the property is situated on with over 2,000 homes.
Alan French, 76, has resided in Hyde, Greater Manchester for 24 years in his two-bedroom detached bungalow.
The property, called Far Meadow Farm, sits on 10 acres of land.
Mr French, a retired horticulturalist who now spends his time judging horses, bought what he thought would be his forever home in 2002, until Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council proposed a new housing development - Godley Green Garden Village.
Planning permission, submitted in 2021 and approved earlier this year, revealed the council's plans to build two new villages, constructed on 256 acres of green belt countryside between Hyde and Hattersley, the Daily Mail reports.
Many landowners have already entered agreements with the council, selling off their land to them to make way for the 2,150 home-strong development.
However, Mr French has resisted the local authority's bids for his bungalow and now fears he will be forced into selling his property via a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO).
Remaining undeterred, the retiree has told Tameside council he will not relinquish his home even if a CPO was served.
The council's proposals boast over 2,000 houses being built on a green belt east of Manchester
|GOOGLE STREET VIEW / TAMESIDE COUNCIL
The council have already subject his childhood and grandmother's homes to CPOs and subsequently has been bulldozed.
Mr French said: "My life has been plagued by these purchase orders.
"When I first found out about these plans and that my property is right in the middle I was thinking to myself blummin' heck not another one."
He continued to explain how he told the council to "sod off", but he now fears he might be forcibly removed from his million pound property despite being "too old to move again".
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Mock up of Godley Green Garden Village
|TAMESIDE COUNCIL / GODLEY GREEN
Mr French lives with five horses, two chickens, two ducks and four pigeons and described his view as "lovely".
His family have been plagued by CPOs with his childhood home, Barrak Hill Farm in Romiley, being subject to one in 1954, in which the council then built a housing estate on the 18 acres of land.
Then, a decade later, his grandmother's property was CPOs and knocked down to make way for an Iceland and car park.
Mr French has been assured by the council that they will not file a CPO against his property, but has not yet received this promise in writing.
The lack of written correspondence from the council has left him fearful that they might subject him to the order.
Anne Tym, 68, a retired dairy farmer finds herself in a similar position to Mr French, claiming she has been threatened with a CPO too after declining offers from the council to buy her nine-acre property.
She lives with her husband - who has asked to remain anonymous - at Brookfold Farm in Hyde and is determined that the council will not force her into surrendering their land.
The former dairy farmer said she had no intention of leaving, arguing her husband has lived on the property his entire life and she has called it home for four decades.
She acknowledged that the council has approached her about a potential sale and raised the possibility of a Compulsory Purchase Order, though she has yet to receive anything formally in writing.
The wider development has provoked considerable local anger, attracting more than 4,000 objections when it was first submitted in October 2021.
Critics have raised concerns that just 15 per cent of the planned homes will meet the threshold for affordable housing.
Campaign group Save Tameside Greenbelt was formed in response to the application, with leader Claire Elliott, 48, from Stalybridge, expressing frustration that despite overwhelming community opposition the project has pushed ahead.
She argued that residents feel unheard, suggesting the outcome appeared predetermined and described the development as a loss of cherished countryside and wildlife that locals cherish.
Sue Hartley, 65, from Newton, who keeps her horse on the land, condemned the way affected residents have been left in prolonged uncertainty, accusing the council of land banking and describing the situation as needlessly cruel.
Mr French echoed these sentiments, warning that the development would damage local wildlife and prove an unwelcome intrusion on the landscape.
Tameside has collaborated with MADE to deliver the housing development.
The project originated in 2016 under the now-abandoned Greater Manchester Spatial Framework and was formally submitted to Tameside's planning portal in October 2021.
In a joint statement, a spokesperson for Tameside Council and MADE said: "We can confirm that no compulsory purchase orders are being actively pursued or have been issued for the land within the allocated Godley Green Garden Village.
"Tameside Council and MADE have worked closely with landowners across the site through ongoing engagement and consultation, allowing the proposals to progress through dialogue and agreement to avoid the use of compulsory purchase powers.
"The Council and MADE remain committed to engaging fairly, and transparently with all affected people, including landowners, as part of the statutory planning process and via a resident liaison group."